Overstock.com, Inc. subsidiary Medici Ventures, one of the leading blockchain accelerators has purchased a $ 2.5 million equity in GrainChain, a suite of software to bring easy and secure payments to farmers, purchasers and grain elevators via blockchain. According to a press release CoinReport recei…

All the talk about stablecoins has people re-examining the actual value of crypto tokens and the associated markets. The discussion is particularly relevant during a bear assault on the whole crypto market, like the one we’re seeing now. Frequent Bitcoin commentator and Cornell professor Emin Gün Sirer believes there is a distinct difference between a … Continued

Bitcoin Group SE has bought 100 percent shares of investment bank Tremmel for an undisclosed amount. This is the German digital currency exchange operator’s second acquisition in 2018. Bitcoin Group, which holds current assets of $ 40 million, said Tremmel allows it to issue its own cryptocurrency-related products, conduct proprietary trading and operate bitcoin ATMs.

Singapore-based BK Global Consortium has paid 400 billion won (approximately $ 350 million) for a majority stake in South Korean Bithumb, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to a local news outlet.

BK Global Consortium is a blockchain investment firm under BK Global, a Singapore plastic surgery medical group owned by Kim Byung-Gun. The Consortium had held a minority position in Bithumb for a while and was the exchange’s fifth largest shareholder until today’s announcement. Read more...

As 2019 approaches, we need to start looking at our options for the next year. If the start of 2018 was anything to go by, the crypto markets could be huge going through January, though as it stands we don’t expect the same level of hype to be drawn into the markets at the start of next year, unfortunately. This doesn’t mean to say that crypto won’t fly in 2019, but it does mean that as things stand, we can’t see us entering the new year with Bitcoin at $ 20,000.00 so to speak. Read more...

The US crypto exchange Bittrex has become a shareholder in the Maltese Blockchain company Palladium, after buying a 10% stake in the company.

The local news outlet Time of Malta spoke to the founder of Palladium, Paolo Catalfamo who said:

“We are excited to have such a global player on board. Bittrex’s investment in Palladium is a confirmation of Malta’s sound decision to be at the forefront of regulating blockchain technology.”

Before the investment was executed by Bittrex, Palladium was owned by the bank holding company Investar Holding, which held 85% in the company, and an eSports betting platform Unikrn, which held 15% in the company. Read more...

A musician who wants to use cryptocurrency to create a “real-life Wakanda” in Africa is the main feature in today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief. Additional stories include an ICO mogul who bought land worth $ 19 million with bitcoin, a massive trove of Coinbase customers’ complaints and more.

Akon Launches Akoin

Akon, the Senegalese-American singer, is launching his own cryptocurrency token called Akoin. The stated purpose of the project is to build a futuristic city in Senegal that is meant to be a “real-life Wakanda”, referring to the fictional highly technologically advanced African nation featured in the recent Black Panther movie. Read more...

Humans of Bitcoin (HOB) is off to a rousing start in its second season on the Bitcoin.com Podcast Network, diving deeply into Bitcoin pioneers over two installments. The current episode features crypto evangelist Jeffrey Tucker, Editorial Director at the American Institute for Economic Research, in a fast-moving interview exploring his intellectual development and discovery of bitcoin. Friday, May 11th, HOB will release a fascinating and compelling discussion with these pages’ CEO, Roger Ver, revealing a personal side to the man few have heard. Tying them both together, interestingly enough, is Shapeshift’s founder Erik Voorhees.Read more...

Regardless of what the central Chinese government tries to do or say, bitcoin and cryptocurrency remain popular investments among everyday people in China. And a new way to get exposure to the ecosystem just materialized for those with access to the Hong Kong market, a publicly traded company entered the mining industry.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is buying Earn.com, a social network that allows users to earn digital currency by replying to emails and completing small tasks online.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong made the announcement in a blog post today, April 16, 2018. In addition to welcoming the entire Earn.com team, Coinbase has made Earn.com co-founder and CEO Balaji Srinivasan its first CTO. Both companies are located in the Bay Area. Read more...

A fan of the New England Patriots was the first to use cryptocurrency to buy Super Bowl tickets as he spent 2.2 bitcoins for 50-yard line seats at Super Bowl LII.

The football season has finally reached its climax as the Super Bowl is set to take place tomorrow between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. Super Bowl LII is being held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it’s estimated that over a 100 million people alone in the USA will watch it. Of course, die-hard fans will watch the gridiron match from the stands of US Bank Stadium. One fan made crypto history by being the first to use bitcoins to buy tickets to Super Bowl LII. Read more...

JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup are all putting a stop to Bitcoin purchases made using their cards, citing high risk due to extreme price volatility.

Credit Card Declined

With Bitcoin suffering one of its worst weeks since 2013, major US banks are putting a stop to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency purchases made using their credit cards. According to reports, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup are all banning cryptocurrency purchases using their credit cards, leaving some investors eager to “buy the dip” out in the cold.

Harunustaspor, a Turkish amateur football team, just bought a player using bitcoin.

The Bitcoin space might be struggling from a price and a sentiment perspective right now but that hasn’t stopped the flow of quirky news that’s become prevalent over the last six months or so, as the cryptocurrency and blockchain spaces have moved out from under the radar and into the mainstream.

The latest report of this type has come out of Turkey, which (as many reading will likely already be aware) has had something of a turbulent relationship with cryptocurrency over the last few months. Read more...

Blockchain technology is no longer limited to innovative startups with grand intentions of changing the world. Massive multinationals are also looking to use the technology to improve their operations and boost productivity. The latest in the lineup to get on board the blockchain train is petro corporation Shell.

According to industry portal OilPrice, the energy giant has bought up a minority share in Gartner-listed startup Applied Blockchain. Details of the deal have yet to be disclosed, but the move will enable the London startup to help Shell explore how the technology might be applied to its business.

Taking matters into his own hands, a Russian businessman buys two electric power plants for the purposes of cryptocurrency mining.

For those who are active participants in cryptocurrency mining, there are a number of issues to be concerned with. One such problem is how a country’s national government feels about cryptocurrency, such as either accepting it or banning it outright. Another major concern is having access to the power needed for mining crypto in the first place. One Russian businessman has decided to take matters into his own hands and has bought two electric power plants expressly for the purpose of crypto mining. Read more...